The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

A Prime Air drone delivered a few bottles of sunscreen to a patch of grass while attendees at the company’s MARS conference in Palm Springs, CA watched, reports The Verge. While there isn’t currently an announcement on the Prime Air site or any footage, a YouTube user uploaded a video of the action today:

The fully autonomous delivery marks the first time Amazon’s drones have flown for the public in America, the company says, as previous flights were conducted on private property.

Prime Air vice president Gur Kimchi tells The Verge that the test flight was conducted with the assistance of the Federal Aviation Administration, bringing the company “one step closer to making 30-minute package delivery by drone a reality.”

Of course, drones won’t be filling our skies with packages just yet: FAA regulations don’t allow commercial drones to fly over any humans not involved in operating them, and requires them to stay within line of sight of their pilots at all times.